FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT PROMOTERS - PAGE 4

Although a tourism bonanza from the 1987 PGA Championship is less widespread than expected, area promoters say the exposure will be priceless. "This is probably the most TV coverage we`ll receive for years," said Charles Lehmann, executive director of the Palm Beach County Convention & Visitors Bureau. "There`s just nothing else that compares." With that in mind, tourism boosters say the long-term impact of next week`s event may be greater than the immediate impact. Although a few hotels are booked solid, several hoteliers expressed disappointment over unmet expectations.

Don't expect concerts to headline the Delray Beach Tennis Center any time soon. The Delray Beach City Commission has decided to end the agreement, made in 2003, that the city had with World Wide Entertainment Inc., City Manager David Harden said. The company, which promoted such groups as the Bee Gees, was supposed to book five concerts a year at the tennis center for three years. But it only provided the tennis stadium with one concert, Christian singer Michael W. Smith, along with Christian artists MercyMe and the David Crowder Band on July 22. "They had a contract and made a commitment and fell short, so we're moving in a different direction," Mayor Jeff Perlman said.

In the wake of complaints about profanity at a recent concert, Fantasma Productions President Jon Stoll says his promotion company will try to be more circumspect when booking gigs at the city's amphitheater. Several residents complained to commissioners about profanity used during a performance by A Tribe Called Quest in late March. Stoll said a disc jockey on stage, not a member of the rock group, apparently used vulgar language. "Certainly I guess we have to be a little more careful," Stoll said.

Just last month, a local lawyer announced plans for a Palm Beach County Grand Prix, but promoters in Broward long have suffered a series of false starts in their efforts to stage an event emulating the hugely successful Miami race. The Miami Grand Prix, a resounding success after a first-year flop, pulls out all the stops Saturday in its third annual run along a 1.85-mile downtown course. In January, Bill Jacobsen vowed that his Palm Beach Grand Prix Association will hold a road race along Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach even if it does not receive sponsorship from the International Motors Sports Association.

If something is causing unnecessary problems, don`t bother asking complicated questions like "Why?". These types of questions force the thought process to kick in, and we all know what happens when the brain is forced to work for a living; You just might come up with a better idea. Boyz `N the Hood, a powerful and well-done movie promoting friendship and family values as the best cure for the disease of gang violence in South Central Los Angeles, opened last week to a media blizzard with headlines such as the following: "Movie Opens to Gunfire, Violence."

SunFest may be the most "happening" event in town, but it`s going to happen a lot more smoothly if 500 needed volunteers are in place, promoters say. Hoping to add that number to the 1,600 who already have signed up for the April 30-May 3 festival, organizers are throwing an all-you-can-eat party tonight in West Palm Beach. "We just came up with about 600 new shifts that need to be filled," promoter Gina Arsenault said. "These are for new places, or spots where we never had enough people in past years.

Though financial troubles have closed the city's new amphitheater after three weeks, the city has received offers in the past week from promoters who think they can make a go of it. Tim Tracey, the city's recreation director, said he has told those interested in taking over promotion of the 2,700-seat ampitheater to send him a resume and references. The city still has a contract with Florida Suncoast Attractions to operate the $3 million amphitheater, but financial troubles caused the cancellation last week of 15 performances and raised doubts about its future.

When the Air & Sea Show was new to Fort Lauderdale, captivated spectators and happy business owners called it a "shot in the arm," a huge success, Broward County's Mardi Gras. Two Fort Lauderdale businessmen who want to hear those words again got the go-ahead Tuesday to resurrect the show. City commissioners voted unanimously to approve a contract with Stanton Smith and Steve Savor, allowing them to start building the show for a return in 2010. The contract requires the promoters to pay all the city's costs, post a $750,000 bond in case there are problems, and schedule the show so it doesn't hurt The Galleria mall by occurring during that season's heaviest shopping weekend right before Mother's Day. It also must not coincide with an annual ophthalmologist's convention.

On the surface, when the Organization of American States convenes its General Assembly at the Broward County Convention Center on June 5, the product generated will be lots and lots of words. Picture 600 diplomats talking for three days about democracy. But there will be some dollars spent, too. Even a diplomat needs a bed, a ride and a bite to eat between speeches. Diplomats' spouses and families might want to shop. And if President Bush and his travel party show up to kick off the discussion, hotels could get a windfall of White House spending.

With ticket sales mirroring this year's album retail slide, the concert industry needs a happier new year than the one they're getting ready to ring out. Promoters are counting on superstar acts to lure more people through the gates and to take the "lack" out of "lackluster."The industry's mantra for '97 is "turnaround." South Florida's 1997 concert calendar is coming together one date at a time, with local promoters promising some big acts in what should be a busy run-up to an even busier spring.